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I think you guys are overthinking it. He said entry-level PC (aka budget build) and he mentioned a game that isn't the most damaging title. A decent 1080p 60fps build is what he needs. I gave him decent price ranges so that he has a rough estimate of what it will cost him.

GTAV is extremely scalable though. It's probably one of the best running games out there. Heck, even a 750 Ti runs the game at 1080p 60fps. Ya he doesn't need to max every setting but I'd say he should at least gtx a 1050 Ti level card for 1080 60 because even with lowered settings , a weak card wont' cut it.

Senior Member

The new GPU price I gave him is for a 1050 TI -- it's R2 400. I have a 750 TI and it's still alright if you're really on a budget, but the 1050 TI blows it out of the park. He'll have a great time with it.

Honorary Master

GTAV is extremely scalable though. It's probably one of the best running games out there. Heck, even a 750 Ti runs the game at 1080p 60fps. Ya he doesn't need to max every setting but I'd say he should at least gtx a 1050 Ti level card for 1080 60 because even with lowered settings , a weak card wont' cut it.

Expert Member

maybe i`m turning into a filthy casual as i`m getting older, but it seems like a surprising number of games these days don`t need the latest and greatest like they used to. Just look at gog`s lineup. 2d, low poly, and pixel art everywhere.

I almost bought a 3GB 1060 myself but I knew I would have regretted it because eventually that amount of vram will be too little. In fact, I'd say 3GB should be the bare minimum vram for 1080p if you want good looking textures. But okay I guess it should be fine considering I was running games decent at 1080p with a 2GB card. It's just a strange design really and weird decision by nvidia. What you have here is a GPU perfectly capable of running games well at 1440p yet it's main limiting factor is the vram. That being said, even though it has 1GB less vram than the 1050 Ti, it's obviously still a much better card so the OP should go for that assuming he's okay with lowering the textures a bit.

Honorary Master

I almost bought a 3GB 1060 myself but I knew I would have regretted it because eventually that amount of vram will be too little. In fact, I'd say 3GB should be the bare minimum vram for 1080p if you want good looking textures. But okay I guess it should be fine considering I was running games decent at 1080p with a 2GB card. It's just a strange design really and weird decision by nvidia. What you have here is a GPU perfectly capable of running games well at 1440p yet it's main limiting factor is the vram. That being said, even though it has 1GB less vram than the 1050 Ti, it's obviously still a much better card so the OP should go for that assuming he's okay with lowering the textures a bit.

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I almost bought a 3GB 1060 myself but I knew I would have regretted it because eventually that amount of vram will be too little. In fact, I'd say 3GB should be the bare minimum vram for 1080p if you want good looking textures. But okay I guess it should be fine considering I was running games decent at 1080p with a 2GB card. It's just a strange design really and weird decision by nvidia. What you have here is a GPU perfectly capable of running games well at 1440p yet it's main limiting factor is the vram. That being said, even though it has 1GB less vram than the 1050 Ti, it's obviously still a much better card so the OP should go for that assuming he's okay with lowering the textures a bit.

I've seen the 6GB card outperform the 3GB in far fewer situations than one would imagine, with only a few frames between the cards. But that's usually down to the 6GB card having a bit of extra muscle, with only a few situations being down to the extra memory. But yes the 6GB card is the better card and the better investment, but to see it perform better than the 3GB variant you have to start looking at 1440p gaming. By the time the 3GB card needs upgrading, you'll probably still have a much more usable card but it won't matter in most games. But that peace of mind may be worth the extra cash.

There are quite a few games that use up to 4GB of vram even at 1080p. Games like AC Unity, Deus Ex Mankind Divided comes to mind. But that's also with the highest settings though. I know with my previous 2GB R9 270X I had to play with textures on medium in vram heavy games. But yeah I know what you mean, not every single game out there will be demanding on the vram. 3GB should be fine. Still though, if I look at it from my situation, I would have always had a bit of regret if I went with the 3GB version instead of the 6GB one.

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I've seen the 6GB card outperform the 3GB in far fewer situations than one would imagine, with only a few frames between the cards. But that's usually down to the 6GB card having a bit of extra muscle, with only a few situations being down to the extra memory. But yes the 6GB card is the better card and the better investment, but to see it perform better than the 3GB variant you have to start looking at 1440p gaming. By the time the 3GB card needs upgrading, you'll probably still have a much more usable card but it won't matter in most games. But that peace of mind may be worth the extra cash.

Yep the card's actual power is quite similar to the 6GB version and the only advantage the 6GB has is the vram. But honestly, textures (imo at least) have a large impact on a game's visuals. With 4GB+ vram you'll have peace of mind. Not that I'm saying the OP should take a 4GB 1050 Ti over a 3GB 1060 though xd

Honorary Master

There are quite a few games that use up to 4GB of vram even at 1080p. Games like AC Unity, Deus Ex Mankind Divided comes to mind. But that's also with the highest settings though. I know with my previous 2GB R9 270X I had to play with textures on medium in vram heavy games. But yeah I know what you mean, not every single game out there will be demanding on the vram. 3GB should be fine. Still though, if I look at it from my situation, I would have always had a bit of regret if I went with the 3GB version instead of the 6GB one.

It will use as much vram as it can preloading stuff. If one looks at ghost recon wildlands for example it uses 4gb on the 6gb card while the 3gb card has all it's vram used but there is no stutering or anything like that. GTA V will warn you if the settings are gonna exceed the ram but I've found if you go like 200-300MB over it still runs fine. That does not apply to every game out there though.

Personally I would also go for the 6GB version but if you're on a tight budget then the 3GB version will do the job pretty well. If it comes down to picking a 4GB 1050ti or 3GB 1060 I'll take the 1060 without even thinking about it.

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It will use as much vram as it can preloading stuff. If one looks at ghost recon wildlands for example it uses 4gb on the 6gb card while the 3gb card has all it's vram used but there is no stutering or anything like that. GTA V will warn you if the settings are gonna exceed the ram but I've found if you go like 200-300MB over it still runs fine. That does not apply to every game out there though.

Personally I would also go for the 6GB version but if you're on a tight budget then the 3GB version will do the job pretty well. If it comes down to picking a 4GB 1050ti or 3GB 1060 I'll take the 1060 without even thinking about it.

You are right indeed. Most of the time, the game just caches as much as it can. I remember Black Ops 3 back then stirred up some controversy because it was "using" 11GB vram. Regardless of that though, some games do in fact genuinely use more than 3GB vram. Believe it or not, Deus Ex Mankind Divided, stutters even on my 6GB 1060 using ultra textures. With very high textures then it runs without a hitch.Personally I do think that 3GB vram will be pushing it for the next few years but I guess it all just comes down to perspective. If you are fine with lowering textures a bit then 3GB should be enough. At the end of the day, 3GB should be enough to offer a good enough experience and it's not as if the OP wants the best machine money can buy.

I'm running ultra textures without stuttering but I have some other stuff turned down (cloth physics comes to mind). I spent quite a lot of time going through all the settings tweaking for optimal looks/performance. I go through that process for all games I can't max out, wish I had a 1080ti then I won't have to worry

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I'm running ultra textures without stuttering but I have some other stuff turned down (cloth physics comes to mind). I spent quite a lot of time going through all the settings tweaking for optimal looks/performance. I go through that process for all games I can't max out, wish I had a 1080ti then I won't have to worry

Ya I have everything else turned up to the max. Perhaps I'll tinker a bit. I also enjoy tinkering but I guess I'm kinda different from other PC gamers in that depending on the game, I don't mind locking it to 30fps and pushing up the details as high as I can. Strange I know xd.

Honorary Master

Ya I have everything else turned up to the max. Perhaps I'll tinker a bit. I also enjoy tinkering but I guess I'm kinda different from other PC gamers in that depending on the game, I don't mind locking it to 30fps and pushing up the details as high as I can. Strange I know xd.

I know MSAA is a killer so I don't worry with that. I max everything else while keeping the textures on Very High. I locked it to 30 because I don't enjoy framerates that fluctuate too much. Also I'm starting to become quite bottlenecked by my CPU in certain games so I lock the framerate in such cases too. Idk, I guess it is extreme but I tend to be either a locked 60fps or 30fps guy.